“Are we there yet?” That’s what Fair Haven Police Cpl. John Waltz was likely chanting on Friday as he feverishly rode his bike on the last, probably sore, leg of his journey in the Police Unity Tour. Destination: the National Law Enforcement Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Rugby has gained popularity in America lately, and its sports appeal has kicked in with kid players and adult coaches in the Rumson-Fair Haven area.
RFH Youth Rugby, under the umbrella of Jersey Shore Youth Rugby Association, has kicked off its spring season with a camp session and has more in store.
Photo/RFH Youth Rugby
Here’s what’s happening:
• The first day of spring youth rugby camp was held at the Community Center fields in Fair Haven on May 7 with a great turnout, organizers said. The camp comprises a co-ed, non-tackle, flag rugby program for kids kindergarten age through 8 that runs until the middle of June on Sunday afternoons.
The teams play in the fall and spring and the organization hosts many free rugby clinics throughout Monmouth County and is scheduled to hold weekly summer rugby camps through area rec programs in July.
• The Spring Rugby Fundraising Mixer will be held on Thursday night, May 11, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. at the Fair Haven Knights of Columbus Hall, Fair Haven Road. The $35 admission includes appetizers, beer, wine and soda.
Photo/RFH Youth Rugby
• On Memorial Day, May 27, high school tackle rugby will come to Rumson for the first time as the RFH Youth Rugby Club hosts the 2017 NJ HS Rugby State Championships along with the states’ rugby governing body, RUGBY NJ at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s Borden Stadium.
The day will feature an exhibition match of the U16 Blue and Gold Division Boys, followed by the Boys HS Gold Division (Single School Division) and the Blue Division (Community Based) programs which will determine the 2017 NJ HS State Champions.
Also, an exhibition youth flag rugby match featuring kids from the Jersey Shore Youth Rugby Association. The RFH Youth Rugby Club will also participate in the competition.
Match times are to be announced, but an afternoon start time is anticipated. Student ticket prices are $3 for advance purchase and $5 at the door. Adult tickets are $6 for advance purchase and $8 at the door. The snack shack will be open serving hot dogs, hamburgers, cold soda, candy, baked goods, etc.
Check out www.jerseyshoreyouthrugby.org for more info about the championship games, youth rugby programs in the area, and to purchase tickets.
Memorial services have been set for Saturday and next Monday for longtime Fair Haven resident and World War II veteran, Kenneth Hayden Curchin, who passed away peacefully on April 29 at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, at the age of 100.
Another version of the following was originally published in February of 2016 …
The Fair Haven Fisk Chapel AME Church is home to many community founders and their families. Its history juts deep into the entrenched roots of Fair Haven life.
The modest little place and its humble, welcoming people have a very rich history all their own. A lot of the names and faces are traceable back to the early days of the church, back in the mid-1800s.
U.S. Army Sgt. Ken Curchin, pilot in WW II Photo/Curchin family
It’s a pretty well-known fact by now that Fair Haven’s Ken Curchin turned 100 on April 19.
The centenarian who’s favorite mantra is “Never quit!” led what he called a simple life enriched by family and attaining his dream of becoming a pilot when the odds were against him. After helping construct the Alcan Highway in Alaska during World War II, Ken Curchin ended up flying a B-17 Bomber in the war.
Ken Curchin has been all over the world. He’s done and seen a lot. He flew a B-17 Bomber in World War II. He married his best gal and became a dad to five children. He was a barber in his family’s shop on Mechanic Street in Red Bank. He jumped off the Fair Haven Dock. All this and he says, with an eye twinkle and a his own brand of hearty hyena chuckle, that he’s “never been in the newspaper until now, sons a b******!”
Well, this is the second (or, we’re told, third) time, Mr. Curchin. Born on April 19, 1917 in the building that is now Frame It Yourself on River Road in Fair Haven, he is 100 years old today. Rumson-Fair Haven Retrospect caught up with him for a second time on Easter. And what a time it was!
Happy Birthday, Mr. Curchin! Listen and learn … (Be sure to click the video to enlarge!)
Sometimes a little solitude, a stroll and a serene scene down by the Fair Haven Dock is the best thing for the soul.
While the scenery may look the same, no two riverfront snapshots in time are ever identical. Each moment is unique. Each picture different. The effect, too, of given day down by that Navesink River can change like, well, the seasons.
It’s spring in Fair Haven. And that riverfront stroll is as soothing as the sun’s warm embrace. That’s because it’s a walk home.
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